Mudlarking: Letort Stories
2024
with Visiting Artist Mia Cinelli, findings displayed at Cumberland County Historical Society and Bosler Memorial Library
A “mudlark” is someone who scavenges in riverbanks for objects of value. Historically, this refers to people who searched the Thames River foreshore in London, England, where one now needs a permit to go mudlarking. Today, anyone anywhere can go mudlarking in effort to collect distinct discarded objects.
On June 29, 2024, Carlisle residents gathered at Letort park for a community mudlarking expedition and creek clean-up. Over the course of a few hours, trash and recyclables were pulled from the river and its banks – found items were properly disposed of or carefully sorted and catalogued. What remained was a curated collection of unique objects classified into distinct categories: food and drink, play and recreation, and tools and technology. What can these recovered artifacts tell us about who we are and what we value?
This mudlarking expedition and companion exhibits were organized by Carlisle Arts Learning Center in collaboration with visiting artist Mia Cinelli, whose exhibit "Working Backwards" (August 9–September 14, 2024) imagined the next 100 years of discarded objects and ephemera. Found objects from Letort Creek were displayed at Cumberland County Historical Society and Bosler Memorial Library.